Finance Specialist

Job Posting Organization:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an international organization that leads global efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">food security. Established in 1945, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide, employing thousands of staff members dedicated to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The organization focuses on transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, ensuring that no one is left behind. The Shared Services Centre (SSC) within FAO is responsible for managing quality assurance activities and improving service delivery through process standardization and automation.

Job Overview:
The Finance Specialist position is crucial for delivering financial services to FAO Decentralized Offices. The role involves acting as a primary contact for financial matters, particularly related to invoice booking. The Finance Specialist will be responsible for routine financial administration tasks, ensuring the accuracy of financial data, and supporting the Finance Unit team. This position requires a proactive approach to monitoring workloads, tracking task progress, and reporting updates to supervisors. The Finance Specialist will also participate in continuous improvement initiatives, focusing on the analysis and implementation of new financial process automations, thereby enhancing service delivery and operational efficiency.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Finance Specialist will perform a variety of tasks including: acting as a point of contact for CSF and Decentralized Offices regarding invoice booking; performing routine financial administration support and transaction processing; monitoring workload and task progress; verifying data accuracy and reporting discrepancies; assisting in reviewing transactions and investigating errors; extracting transaction details for analysis; participating in continuous improvement efforts; ensuring smooth processing of invoices and payments; liaising with corporate banks for payment issues; drafting correspondence to respond to queries; creating and maintaining standard operating procedures; providing procedural guidance to managers and staff; and performing other duties as required.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a Secondary School Education and have a minimum of four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management, or asset management support work. A working knowledge of English at level C is required, and candidates must be nationals of Hungary or residents with a valid work permit. Additionally, candidates should demonstrate competencies in results focus, teamwork, communication, building effective relationships, and knowledge sharing.

Educational Background:
The minimum educational requirement for this position is a Secondary School Education. This foundational education is essential for understanding the basic principles of finance and accounting necessary for the role.

Experience:
Candidates should have at least four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management, or asset management related support work. This experience is critical for ensuring that the Finance Specialist can effectively manage financial transactions and support the Finance Unit team.

Languages:
A working knowledge of English (level C) is mandatory for this position. Knowledge of another FAO official language such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish would be considered an asset, enhancing the candidate's ability to communicate within the diverse international environment of FAO.

Additional Notes:
The position is full-time and requires candidates to be either nationals of Hungary or residents with a valid work permit. The role may involve working closely with various stakeholders and requires a commitment to continuous improvement in financial processes. Compensation and benefits details are typically provided during the hiring process.